Xathal
History of the Region Xathal was originally an outpost of the Roshaz kingdom that had fallen into disrepair and ruin after it was overlooked by the invading Bashor, stone and vegetation completely covering the well that provided access to an ancient leyline and leaving the power source untapped for centuries. A human wizard known to his followers as Xathamar had been apprenticed to an ettin wizard in Ferringol and led a mass exodus of human slaves after stealing a great number of secrets from the old wizard, including an ancient list of wells of power in Acheron. Xathamar managed to take his people away from the island of Ferringol, through the savage lands of Ogr, and into the lush and thick jungles of the Eastern coast, which would soon become the land of the human refugees and former slaves to the ogres. Xathamar created, with the help of others who had been enslaved in the ettin's spire, a university where each of the thousands of members of their new kingdom were educated in artificing, in the basics of magic, and in the teachings of Gond which had been forbidden in Ferringol. Xathal, their new home, would quickly become a proper city and beings from across Acheron would flee to the city in order to take refuge in the one place where war dare not touch. The Xathamites, as his followers came to be known, were well aware that this was not realistic, and so they used their knowledge of artificing and magic to create great and powerful vehicles and machines, from small hand-cannons to a siege engine capable of tearing down a mountain. The Xathamites felt secure until from the North, an army of half-giants and ogres arrived, easily tearing down the defenses and beginning to lay waste to their new city. Xathamar watched as his men, strangers to real battle, were torn down one by one and the ettin lord who was once his master sat before him, contesting the well. He placed himself upon the well and drew forth as much power as was possible, destroying the invaders and leaving his body ravaged. He lay upon the well much longer from then on, constantly draining energy to fuel his ruined form, and he began to use astral projection to communicate with his followers, who he did not wish to see him in such a condition. Unbeknownst to even his closest friends his mind had also suffered great damages from the defense. He performed experiments on all of his followers in the paranoia that followed, augmenting them with secondary sets of arms as well as increased speed. His city became a technological marvel, mana-powered vehicles and golems performed all of the tasks necessary for the city to operate and his followers became more resentful of his leadership as they found him unnecessary in their lives of excess and leisure. In addition to rising feelings of his irrelevance his desires had grown more strange and he began subjecting some of his people in secret, exposing them to greater experimentation that was wholly unnecessary and grotesque. Xathamar turned them into hideous monstrosities. His closest followers could no longer stand idly by and allow their addled master to pursue his desires. He never left the chamber where he drew his power from the Well, and they knew it wouldn't be easy but it must be done. They used his monstrous creations against him in an attempt to rip him from the well and once again he channeled from the well, this time drawing more power than his mortal body could handle. His physical form was vaporized, sending a shock wave through the city like an explosion. The most valuable assets of the city were destroyed and its people were disfigured beyond recognition, most appearing skeletal or like charred husks of former humans. His followers still remained, most cursed with an unceasing longevity, and the forests of Xathal now resembled a red duned desert, with the occasional blackened tree or bush. The New Restoration of Xathal In 131 4a, most of Xathal was returned to its former beauty, after being a wasteland for centuries due to the blessings of Nuada, taken from the Halls of the Elder Gods at its closing. The only remaining wasteland is the initial stretch around the city, which was too scarred for even the magic of gods. For most of the rest of the region, red dune meets green tree. Today Xathal is still a lawless land of gunslingers and rogues in small towns that are kept together through the pooling of minor resources or in the goal of finding something valuable in the wilderness. From all over the world there are groups of peoples of all different races known as 'prospectors' who have come to try their luck at digging up a valuable piece of the former city or of Xathamar's arsenal. There are two groups attempting to keep order in the Xathal Jungle and ensure that no harm comes to the innocents in the land, namely The Blackened and the constant-roaming bands of soldiers that were formerly the law enforcement of the city. One of the most famous of these roving bands is the Onyx Ravens, who were involved in the original coup against Xathamar and were considered the saviors or villains of Xathal, depending on who one asked. Now that Leo Holloway was revealed to be the one responsible for the restoration of the land, the people in Xathal believe in the good of the Ravens, with many considering it the 'official' military of the land.